Co-signed w/ someone that went BK

Co-signed w/ someone that went BK

Hey ya'll,

Here's my situation and i'm wondering if anyone can help or share some info.

Back in 2001 I co-signed a Circuit CIty store card with someone and got a credit limit of 5K. About 4 years ago that person filled BK and cleared all of their CC. Now with my name on it they started addressing the statements to me to finish paying off a computer, i think there is like 1K left on it. However this account does not show up on any of my credit reports and i've been paying it for the past 2 years.

Is there any way to get this to report on my CR and with the 7 year history?? I understand I would take on the account fully which is perfectly fine with me. Anyone have any information on a situation like this. I would love to get the history, the CL, and the perfect payment history, thank you..

Re: Co-signed w/ someone that went BK

No i haven't called yet, i was going to do that tomorrow.. I havent talked to the person in awhile so i'm not sure if it's on their report. I just wanted to see if anyone has had a experience like this before.

Re: Co-signed w/ someone that went BK

Good for you for paying it. That is the agreement when you co-sign, but a lot of people don't see it that way, lol. Because they never expect their buddy to default. It seems like more often than not, a co-signer backs out of a loan that the main party can't pay.

But thats completely off-topic.

I would call or write a letter saying that if they expect you to pay it, you expect to get credit for paying it.

Re: Co-signed w/ someone that went BK

The cosigner part makes you equally responsible for the debt right, like a joint account?

If that's the case, you should call them and see if you can get them to report the positive history on your CRs.

If the original debtor included this account in the BK though, you might want to think about maybe letting this account be. I'm not sure if they would notate that on your report, which would probably look really, really bad on a manual review.

Re: Co-signed w/ someone that went BK

FretlessMayhem wrote:The cosigner part makes you equally responsible for the debt right, like a joint account?

If that's the case, you should call them and see if you can get them to report the positive history on your CRs.

If the original debtor included this account in the BK though, you might want to think about maybe letting this account be. I'm not sure if they would notate that on your report, which would probably look really, really bad on a manual review.

I'm not sure how a lender would view it, but I think the fact that the OP is paying it is enough. His friend's credit practices shouldn't reflect badly on him. The fact that OP is willing to actually pay off somebody else's debt is actually a huge positive in my eyes. Who knows, some credit analyst might think that your friends' habits rub off on you.

Re: Co-signed w/ someone that went BK

I think my best bet would be to just call them. I would love to have that credit history and CL on my report; but at the same time i dont want anything on my report that even comes close to someone else's BK.

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IMPORTANT INFORMATION: All FICO® Score products made available on myFICO.com include a FICO® Score 8, along with additional FICO® Score versions. Your lender or insurer may use a different FICO® Score than the versions you receive from myFICO, or another type of credit score altogether. Learn more

FICO, myFICO, Score Watch, The score lenders use, and The Score That Matters are trademarks or registered trademarks of Fair Isaac Corporation. Equifax Credit Report is a trademark of Equifax, Inc. and its affiliated companies. Many factors affect your FICO Score and the interest rates you may receive. Fair Isaac is not a credit repair organization as defined under federal or state law, including the Credit Repair Organizations Act. Fair Isaac does not provide "credit repair" services or advice or assistance regarding "rebuilding" or "improving" your credit record, credit history or credit rating. FTC's website on credit.